Ode to Nigella 12 – Gingerbread

Yes, another gingerbread recipe. Go shoot me. It’s for the stuffing. Which you’ll get tomorrow. While Nigella’s recipe for the stuffing says to use store-bought gingerbread, that is something in Australia I would have been very hard pressed to find. And, after the sublime experience of discovering the chocolate gingerbread I was curious to see if what Nigella’s recipe for “plain” gingerbread was like. It has an equally stunning dense moist texture but the chocolate version was the winner. Regardless, the upside of making this is that you only use half and you could serve the remainder warm with custard for dessert. Or ice and offer as afternoon tea as I have.

Gingerbread

150g unsalted butter

125g dark muscovado sugar

200g golden syrup

200g black treacle

2tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

1tsp ground cinnamon

250ml milk

2 large eggs

1tsp bi-carb, dissolved in 2tbsp warm water

300g plain flour

Preheat oven to 170C and line a 30x20x5cm tin

In a saucepan, melt the butter along with the sugar, golden syrup, treacle, ginger and cinnamon

Off the heat add the milk, eggs and bi-carb in its water

Pour into the flour, it will be a very liquid batter, and pour into the tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until risen and firm

Let cool then ice.

Lemon icing

175g icing sugar

1tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp warm water

Whisk the lemon juice into the icing sugar

Add enough water to make a stiff icing

Spread over the cake with a palette knife and leave to set before cutting